There are a number of routes that criss-cross the island, enabling you to choose a short walk or a long circular one covering almost the entire coastline. Once on the island you'll be able to pick your route.
Skomer is situated off the Pembrokeshire coast, and you'll reach the island by boat from Martin's Haven. To get to the Point, take the B4327 from Haverfordwest and follow it south-west until you reach the turning for the Marloes road. Continue through Marloes until you reach the car park.
Click here for a map.What will I see?
Skomer is home to one of the most the most easily accessible of all seabird colonies in northwest Europe, and has been a National Nature Reserve (NNR) since 1959. It's also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and with the surrounding sea and the Marloes peninsula is part of the Skomer Marine Nature Reserve. In season you'll get to see a huge range of seabirds, many of which you won't find on the mainland. Puffins are the island's most famous residents, resident throughout the Summer until August, and there's plenty of other birds, mammals and insects you might see. There is a fee payable for visiting Skomer - contact the Wildlife Trust before departing for the relevant details.
When should I go?
The boats run from Marloes Point from April to October, weather permitting. The island is staffed by a trust warden and volunteers, who do conservation work and research along with meeting and talking to visitors.
What route should I take?
With a choice of routes available to you, our walk will cover the kind of things that you'll see and some of the species that you might meet along the way, touching on the island's rich history. Remember to always stick to the marked footpaths as these routes are specially designed to leave the sensitive wildlife areas unharmed.
The Skomer Story
Lying at the southern end of St Brides Bay in Pembrokeshire, Skomer stands exposed with no land to the southwest to protect it from Atlantic gales and swell. It has a mild climate, with one of the lowest rainfall rates in Wales. Like the rest of the southwestern tip it's sunny too, averaging 1,700 hours of sunshine a year. The island is 759 acres in extent, two miles from east to west, one and a half from north to south. Virtually the entire island is a scheduled Ancient Monument, with plenty of evidence of its human history still present.
The main part of the island is connected by a narrow isthmus to a much smaller companion, with the narrow isthmus of rock measuring just 12 yards wide and 78 feet high. At spring high tide its walls are battered by the sea, with high water several inches higher on the south side than the north. The fast currents in the Sounds, with their eddies and overfalls, often provide rich feeding areas for seabirds and cetaceans like the Common porpoise.
The cliffs form part of the Skomer Volcanic Group formed during the Silurian (Llandovery) period some 425,000 - 405,000 million years ago. This outcrop stretches from the coast outward some 25 miles, connecting Skomer to Grassholm 6 miles further west.
Several deep inlets run along geological faults, none more striking than The Wick, home of the puffin. Here the north-facing vertical cliffs are packed with seabirds, in one of their biggest concentrations anywhere in coastal Europe.
